Two sides of the same "coin"

 

801_1309 [Kolokotronis]

While walking along Stadiou Street in central Athens,

I found myself standing beside this statue

and decided to photograph it.

The low angle of the sunlight and the strong contrast

turned the rider into a striking silhouette.

At first, I was pleased with the result,

but when I later looked at the image on the computer screen,

something about the rider's head looked odd.

I wondered why.

 

 

801_1309 [Kolokotronis]

 Curious to solve the mystery,

I processed the image to bring out some of the details

hidden in the shadows.

 

The rider's helmet emerged,

explaining the unusual shape of the silhouette,

and his identity became immediately clear

— at least to any Greek viewer.

 

The newly revealed details of the horse were an additional bonus.

 

For my non-Greek readers:

the rider is Theodoros Kolokotronis (1770–1843),

the Commander-in-Chief of the Greek forces

during the War of Independence of 1821 against Ottoman rule.

The statue stands in front of the Old Parliament building in Athens.

 

 

A monumental gate

FBHB 5640 [Monumental gate]

This monumental gate marks the entrance to the Roman Agora in Athens.

 

It was built in 11 BC through donations

from the Roman leaders Julius Caesar and Augustus,

whose names are inscribed on the stone block above the columns.

 

The entire structure was constructed from gray marble,

the same type of marble used to build the Parthenon.

 

Remarkably,

the gate has remained in exceptionally good condition

for more than 2,000 years,

despite being built without any connecting materials

between the marble blocks.

 

This is the view from the west.

 

 

 

803_9129 [Monumental gate]

 The same gate viewed from the east at sunset.

 

Please click on the images to see them in higher resolution.

Thanks.

 

If any one of you has missed my older post

of a detailed video presentation of the Roman Agora (13 min),

please click HERE.

 

 

Philopappou monument

802_1878 [Philopappou monument]

 

This monument was built in 114-116 A.D on a hill southwest of the Acropolis

in honor of Philopappos, an exiled prince of Commagene

who settled in Athens, became a citizen, assumed civic and religious offices

and became a great benefactor of the city.

 

When in Athens,

you can easily walk to the monument at the top of the hill

and enjoy a spectacular view of the Acropolis and the city around.

 

 

The Roman Agora in Athens

video: [The Roman Agora]

 

“The Roman Agora in Athens” is a 13min virtual tour

in the form of a picture movie that combines

information, still pictures, transitions, effects, background music

and subtitles in English.

 

It aims to familiarize viewers

with antiquities available in the archeological site of the Roman Agora

and to photographically show them

what they would actually see if they visited the site presented in the project.

 

Background music comes from https://www.purple-planet.com

 

The script is based on historical information

provided free to the public by the Greek Ministry of Tourism. 

 

Redistribution of this picture movie is allowed

as long as the work remains intact and proper reference is made to

https://tagtonsphotography.blogspot.com.

 

Watching in FULL SCREEN and HD is recommended.

 

Για Ελληνικούς υπότιτλους,

παρακαλώ κάντε click στην Ελληνική σημαία.

Θα μεταφερθείτε στο YouTube. 

Σας προτείνουμε να επιλέξετε (αν χρειαστεί) το FULL SCREEN και HD.

 

>==0==<

 

Link to “The Tower of the Winds” in case you are interested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rOdWG3Wis8 (in English)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_3mt12k42o (Ελληνικά)

 

 

Apollo the Guitarist

802_1539 [Apollo the Guitarist]

 

This statue of Apollo, the ancient Greek Olympian god of music, stands with his lyre on a column outside the Academy of Athens, a world-wide highlight of the city. The statue itself measures 3.71m in height while the column is 19.54! 

 

It is attributed to the Greek architect Leonidas Drossis but there is evidence that there is more to the matter.

For additional information please click HERE to watch a slideshow on the Academy of Athens, in case you have missed it. 

 

Please click on the picture for a better view. 

 

 Photographed downtown Athens on September 13, 2015 

 

 

The Acropolis of Athens

Please click on the picture for a better view. 

 

803_6643 [Acropolis]

 

 An early evening view of the well-known, much-photographed, Acropolis of Athens.

 

The sun was setting exactly behind the Parthenon that day and I was hoping for a spectacular sunset to combine with the Parthenon in the foreground but my hope remained only an unfulfilled wish. The sky was dull, the lighting conditions in the area were rather poor but the Parthenon was again as spectacular as ever. To avoid going home with an empty basket, I faced my challenging task by using the HDR technique (7 images stalked) so that I could record as much detail as possible. I am sharing with you whatever I managed to get and look forward to another opportunity with better conditions.

 

The picture was taken from the roof terrace of a friend’s house in the center of Athens on July 19, 2020.

 

 

S. Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center

803-240 [SNFCC pano]

The new Greek Cultural Center in Athens, with its ease of access, beauty, diversity, novelty and tens of other reasons, offers itself as an irresistible photographic spot. Ideal, I might say, for amateur photographers who would like to experiment and improve their skills. One of my favorite spots!
 
On this spot, I often spend some relaxing time shooting panoramas. Occasionally, repeating the ones that failed! Why not? It’s free, enjoyable and educating! The above rectilinear panorama resulted from stitching 17 vertical pictures.
 
Photographed in Athens on October 02, 2019.
 

803_0286 [SNFCC pano]

 This is also a composition of 17 pictures but processed in a way that would produce a cylindrical panorama. I had never tried this process before but I thought the series of trees might yield an interesting result. So, I gave it a try.
 
Photographed in Athens on September 26, 2017.

Please click on both pictures to have a better view.

 

SNFCC: a first view

802_8693 [SNFCC Cultural Center]

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center [above] was opened to the public in 2017. It is a complex that houses the National Library of Greece, the Greek National Opera and many other facilities. It is a well-visited structure.

The picture above shows my own first sight of the Center while I was approaching it one early evening.
 
Photographed in Athens on April 23, 2017
 
Please click on the picture for a better view.

The Cathedral of Athens

802_6311 [The Cathedral of Athens 2]

An early evening shot of the Cathedral of Athens.

Please click on both pictures for a better view.

For more pictures and info about the Cathedral please click here.

Photographed on July 20, 2016

 

By the way, on the left, in the foreground one can see the statue of Archbishop Damaskinos [See below]: a prominent figure who, during the German occupation (1941-1944), assisted the people who suffered, defended their rights and freedom and opposed strongly to the persecution and holocaust of the Greek Jews.
He was a man of great courage who stood up against the German occupation authorities (1943) and said: “The members of the clergy of Greece may not be shot. They may only be hanged. I beg you to respect this tradition….” [Inscription can be seen at the back of the statue.]

802_6600 [Archbishop Damaskinos]

Photographed on August 18, 2016

Syntagma square

IMG_2539 [Syntagma square]

Having coffee at the roof garden of a five-storey building occasionally provides opportunities for extra, non-scheduled, activities like using your mobile phone for a snapshot. In this case, I found the view inviting for a panoramic shot of Syntagma square: the “Trade Mark” we could say of Athens, Greece. One can see exclusive hotels on the left and the Greek Parliament in the distance.
 
Photographed on July 6, 2016

_8010474 [Syntagma square]

The same square photographed from the opposite side on a weekday afternoon, on September 21, 2013

Please click on the photos for a better view.

The Cathedral of Athens

802_6445 [Athens cathedral]

The Cathedral of Athens is centrally located, very close to Syntagma Square, and constitutes a major landmark of the city. It is 40 m long, 20 m wide and 24 m high. It’s construction started on Christmas Day of 1842 and was completed 20 years later. On May 21, 1862 it was dedicated to the Annunciation of the Holy Virgin Mary at the presence of the King Otto and Queen Amalia who had laid the cornerstone 20 years earlier.
 
Throughout its history, it has been the venue of all sorts of official ceremonies ranging from coronations to royal weddings and to funerals of prominent figures of the Greek society.

Photographed in Athens on July 20, 2016



 

802_6597 [Athens Cathedral: Interior]

 The interior of the Cathedral seems to impress all visitors who have the opportunity to admire the plethora of Byzantine-style icons and frescoes, treasures like a part of the chain that Romans used to chain up Paul the Apostle in Rome, or the tombs of two saints: Agía Filothéi and Patriarch Gregory V to name a few.
 
While the night-shot of the exterior of the Cathedral was easy to take with the use of a tripod, photographing the interior proved problematic. Huge dimensions, dim light, and no tripod permitted were only some of the problems any photographer would face. The problem was partially solved with 18 pictures HDRed into 6 and then stitched into the above hand-held 2x3 panorama.
 
Photographed in Athens on August 18, 2016
 
Please click on both pictures for a better view.

The Parthenon

CCC_9483-2 [The Parthenon]

The Parthenon on the Acropolis, as seen from East.
The couple in the picture seem to be commenting on the destroyed pediment that used to host magnificent statues.
A representation of the statues will be uploaded soon.

Photographed in Athens on September 17, 2012

Monastiraki square

801_5784 [Monastiraki square]

The well-visited Monastiraki square near Plaka with the Church of Koimisis Theotokou [The Assumption of Mary] on the left, the Metro station on the right, the Museum of Greek Folk Art in the middle and the Acropolis in the distance.
 
 Photographed in Athens on July 21, 2014

Acropolis museum

_8012135-2 [Acropolis museum]

The new Acropolis museum is an ultramodern glass and steel archeological museum spreading over 14.000 square meters and housing nearly 4.000 ancient artifacts. It is located by the southeastern slope of the Acropolis hill.
The museum - “one of the best in the World”, according to international experts - was built with the purpose of housing the archeological finds on the Acropolis; especially the Marbles of the Parthenon (commonly known as the Elgin Marbles). Inauguration took place on June 20, 2009 and its opening to the whole world served as a reply to those refusing to return the Marbles to where they belong with the poor excuse that Greece had no appropriate place to keep and protect them. Well, we cordially invite them to visit the museum. I am sure a single visit would be enough for them to reconsider their arguments!


Photographed in Athens on January 30, 2014

Please click on the picture for a better view.


The entrance to the museum

_8010672 [Acropolis museum]

Large numbers of domestic and international visitors make their way into the museum every day. There were “over 6.5 million visitors […] in its first five years of operation”. [http://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/en/content/annual-report]
 
Photographed in Athens on September 28, 2013

The Academy of Athens: A slide show

[The Academy of Athens]

A slide show featuring the Academy of Athens: a marble neoclassical building (1885) that is considered one of the major landmarks of the city and - according to international experts - one of the most exquisite neoclassical buildings worldwide.

Duration 8' 39"

You are recommended to watch it in full screen.

Photographs taken in 2015-2016

The University of Athens: The historic building

IMG_0601 [The University of Athens]

  The pictured historic building of the University of Athens is situated in the heart of the city. It was designed in the 19th-century by the Danish architect Hans Christian Hansen (1803-1883) as part of the so-called “Athenian trilogy” of neoclassical buildings consisting of the University of Athens in the middle, the National Library on the left and The Academy on the right. Once, it housed all University services but today its use is restricted to housing the Rectorate, the Senate and the Great Hall of Ceremonies.
 
Photographed in Athens on April 10, 2016
 
Please click on the picture for a better view.

Zeus or Poseidon?

8011966 [Zeus or Poseidon?]

A bronze statue of either Zeus or Poseidon. His exact identification as Zeus or Poseidon is controversial but the former is considered more probable. It was found in the sea of Cape Artemision, in northern Euboea. The god extends his left arm before his body, while holding a thunderbolt [or a trident if Poseidon] in his right hand. It is one of the few preserved original statues of the Severe Style, notable for the exquisite rendering of motion and anatomy; undoubtedly, the work of a great sculptor of the early Classical period (about 460 BC).
 

 Detail

8012815 [Zeus or Poseidon? Detail]

 Both photographed within the National Archaeological Museum in Athens [here]
on January 18, 2014

The Artemision Jockey

8011980 [The Artemission Jockey]

A bronze statue of a horse and its jockey. It was retrieved in pieces from a shipwreck off Cape Artemision in Euboea. The young jockey of the galloping horse is believed to have held the reins in his left hand and a whip in his right hand. The contractions and furrows on his face, especially on the forehead, reveal agony and passion. The work is known as "the Artemision jockey". The pieces were reassembled to a whole in 1971.

It dates back to about 140 BC.

Photographed in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens (here) on January 18, 2014.

Mount Lycabettus

DSC1576 [Mount Lycabettus]

Mount Lycabettus stands in the center of Athens at a height of 300 m above sea level. At the top one can see a little chapel dedicated to St. George, can dine in a restaurant and can enjoy not only a nice view of the Acropolis but also a unique view of the city to any direction. Hopefully, they will pretend to ignore the undoubtedly undesirable antennas that “have crept into the area”.

In the photo above one can see the north part of the mountain as seen through the photographic lens from a distance of nearly 4km.

Photographed on September 13, 2015

Aphrodite

8011997 [Aphrodite]

A statue of Aphrodite made of Parian marble and found in Southern Italy. It formerly belonged to the collection of Lord Hope. The neck, head and right arm were restored by the famous Italian sculptor A. Canova (1757-1822). This version of Aphrodite was made in the 2nd c. AD with Syracuse Aphrodite being the original which goes back to the 4th C. BC.

Photographed in The Archeological Museum of Greece in Athens (here) on January 18, 2014